1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to plows for vehicles, trucks and snow plows, and more particularly to such a safety device which may be selectively engaged to lock and unlock a snow plow wing from a remote location such as the vehicle cabin.
2. Description of the Related Art
Snow removal has been a problem for as long as motorized vehicles have used public roadways for transportation. In response to the task of removing significant quantities of snow away from roadways, driveways and parking lots, many different types of snow plowing arrangements have been invented. For example, snow plow blades may be mounted either to the front of the plow vehicle, to the side of the vehicle, or both. Side-mounted snow plow blades are frequently called wings.
Side-mounted snow plow wings are deployed to the vehicle side for use and retracted to an upright position when not in use or when the vehicle is traveling between uses. A joystick in the cabin of the truck is typically used by the driver to move the wing between deployed and retracted positions. However, the only current means to safely lock a retracted wing and prevent it from dropping down into a deployed position is by manually attaching safety chains. Safety chains are located on the exterior side of a truck where the wing is located and the chains are fastened between the vehicle and the wing. A wing can only be deployed when a safety chain is detached. Thus, when wings are needed to be deployed the driver must exit the vehicle cabin in order to manually latch or detach the safety chains. Exiting the cabin presents a number of hazards to the driver. Oncoming and passing traffic may not see the driver in adverse weather conditions where visibility can be very low. Bad roads can make it difficult for oncoming traffic to avoid a collision with an exposed driver. During implementation or removal of the safety chain, the chain may break and cause the wing to drop unexpectedly, injuring the driver. For these and other safety reasons, there is a need in the industry to reliably lock a snow plow blade into a predictable and secure position.